Month: November 2012

British Prime Minister David Cameron introduces President Barack Obama to Larry the cat at 10 Downing Street in London, England, May 25, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

That’s because we are experiencing our first “frozen fog” of the season and it’s getting very cold at night. There are many homeless cats and kittens who need homes. They need a warm place to curl up and be cozy in and they need good cat lovers who will be their persons.

There’s also another dimension to all of this musing, especially if you’re a caregiver. Cats make excellent care companions for the elderly.

A while back, I shared the story about the stray cat who had come to live with my elderly aunt and uncle. When the cat died, my aunt really went into mourning. She was not given a replacement cat because of the fear she might trip over a cat or kitten.

That’s an important issue with an aging parent who may be on a walker. However, if you’ve got that issue worked out, then you might think seriously about getting a cat.

Unfortunately the shelters are full of homeless cats who could brighten up the long winter days of our elderly. Many kittens need homes and their numbers are increasing. It could be a win/win for everyone involved.

While I was doing research for this post I came across an adoption success story I wanted to share because it involves a British stray who has become very famous. Larry, the cat, was adopted by Prime Minister David Cameron and is now a cat celebrity.

Larry was primarily adopted to shoo away mice from the street in from of #10 Downing Street. Seems you can’t have a rodent problem at the famous London landmark especially with the press around.

Not only has Larry performed his tasks very well, but he has also tried to get rid of some members of the press. Was he encouraged to do that? Interesting…. Not to mention, Larry was involved in a fight with another cat recently. No one said he was supposed to be perfectly behaved at all times.

Larry’s story is a successful one since he was given a chance after being discovered at the Battersea Dogs and Cats Home. Larry had a lot of potential but it took someone to give Larry the opportunity he needed for feline accomplishments.

It’s official, those of us classified as Boomers are spending less. We’re buying fewer vacation homes, fancy cars, furniture and all the trimmings that go with lavish vacations. Why?

If this isn’t surprising, Bloomberg Businessweek is reporting we simply don’t have the money to spend right now.

Is this a trend? Will our incomes improve as the economy improves?

We don’t know that answer. What we do know is as long as interest rates remain low we can’t make that much off our investments and the interest from our stocks.

If, on the other hand, we have invested heavily in real estate as my family did, we’re still stuck working those investments.

Real estate is a 24 hour/7 day a week type of investment. Tenants want what they want immediately. You’ll find yourself with tenants trying to text message you even if you don’t text message. It’s not enough that they have your two main phone numbers and your personal email.

So what I’m saying is retirement isn’t even in the cards for real estate investors as long as we have our properties. We’ll still have the worries and the day to day operations of running a business even though landlording has improved a lot over the last year.

But here’s what really gets to me.

There are those in the government who somehow think we’ve let others down by not spending so much even if we don’t have the money. When did that start making sense?

We’re saving more. But there are many so called experts who feel it’s almost our civic duty to get out there and spend.

Here’s my response to that.

Frugality is not being cheap. It’s being smart. Our grandparents were very careful about spending. They had to be. They were living through a major Depression. Many of us are currently reviewing the lessons learned during those terrible years and that may be a good way spend some time.

I don’t think we’re going to can our own food like they did. We’re not ready for those extreme measures, but yes, we’re going to watch our dollars carefully. Why should that be a surprise to the government, Madison Avenue or anyone else?

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